Ditch-making machine.



' M. H. BLANCHARD;

DITGH MAKING MAQHINE. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 24, 1910.

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H. BLANGHARD. DITGH MAKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 24, 1910.

1,012,189, Patented Dec. 19,1911.

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w/ TNES 555- //v VE/V TOfi FTTO/T'A/E/ MARTIN H. BLANCHAIRD, OFDAVISVILLE, CALIFORNIA.

DITCI-LMAKING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 19, 1911.

Application filed January 24, 1910. Serial No. 539,824.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MARTIN H. BLANCH- ARD, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and a resident of Davisville, in the county of Yolo and State ofCalifornia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Ditch-MakingMachines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved ditch making or levee-buildingmachine of that class in which the earth is excavated by means of ascoop arranged on a vehicle and from which scoop the excavated materialis conveyed by belt conveyers.

The improvements comprise the arrangement of the conveyer belts, bymeans of which the material is conveyed from the excavator anddischarged from the machine.

Heretofore, in ditch making machines it has been impossible to excavatethe ditch to any appreciable depth or to elevate the ex-' cavatedmaterial to a sulficient height to form a levee on account of the steepinclination of the conveyer belt. critical angle the earth will rolldown the conveyer belt instead of being carried upward thereby and themachine will cease to operate.

In the machine of my invention I provide three conveyer belts eachadapted to raise the material a part of the distance and arranged insuch manner that the angle of inclination of each belt is considerablyless than the critical angle. In this manner, by raising the material insteps I am enabled to cut a deeper ditch or raise the material higherthan has heretofore been accomplished, so far as I am aware.

Another feature of the invention is the excavating means which isconstructed to cut a rectangular furrow and deliver all of the materialexcavated to the conveyer belt.

Another feature of the excavator is the central blade or tooth set belowthe horizontal cutting blades which tends to hold the horizontal bladesdown to the earth and prevent them from riding over the surface withoutcutting. This central tooth is set below the horizontal blades a shortdistance so that twigs and roots will not lodge in the angle between theblades and prevent the proper working thereof.

With these and other objects in view, as will more fully hereinafterappear, the in vention consists of certain novel features ofconstruction and arrangement of parts,

At a certain hereinafter fully described, illustrated in theaccompanying drawings and particularly pointed out in the appendedclaims, it being understood that,various changes in the form,proportions, size and minor details of the structure may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of theinvention.

' Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan or :topview of the complete machine. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation taken from theright side of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken longitudinallythrough the center of the truck on which the excavating device isarranged. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the excavator and a portion ofthe belt conveyer.

The excavator A is mounted on the lower end of the frame F which ispivotally attached to the side rails B of a vehicle so that theexcavator may be raised or lowered depending on the character of thesoil being worked. The vehicle is provided with customary rear wheels CDand a single steering wheel E mounted on a fifth-wheel or turn-table atthe forward end.

The excavator is adjusted vertically by means of the lever 43 whichoperates a shaft arranged across the frame of the vehicle. Arms 41 onthe shaft 40 are connected to the excavator by rods 42 so that theexcavator is raised or lowered by moving the lever 43. The lever 43 isheld in any desired position by means of a latch engaging a toothed rack44 on the vehicle frame. The means for connecting the excavatingappliance to the vehicle body is of a character that permits of allnecessary changes or variations in the position of the cutting bladesand consists of draft rods 45 connecting each side of the excavator torings 46 in the side of the rail B. The connections between the draftrods and the rings 46 and between the rods and the excavator are looseto permit the vertical adjustment of the excavator.

A novel feature in the excavating appliance A consists in thearrangement of pointed cutting blades in horizontal and verticalpositions, so that the completed cutting share cuts simultaneously inthree planes, two vertical and one horizontal, forming a rectangularfurrow. The upright blades t are arranged at the sides of the excavatorand are fastened to the frame F and to the horizontal blades 8. Theforward end of the blades t curves outward from the upper edge to apoint 34 where it is joined by the forward edge of the blade .9. Theblades 8 are triangular in shape, the cutting edge slanting back fromthe point 34, so that it operates with a shearing effect on the materialto be excavated.

Detachable cutting blades 3536 are secured to the excavator blades 8 andt respectively, so that they may be removed and sharpened when theybecome worn, or may be replaced when they are destroyed. Arrangedbetween the side blades 6 and over the rear end of the horizontal blades8 is an inclined apron w. This apron lies over the belt conveyer andserves to direct the excavated material on to the conveyer.

Another novel feature of the excavator is the angular plate ortooth gset in the angle formed by the horizontal cutting edges and arranged topresent upright faces 37 diverging rearwardly and outwardly toward thehorizontal cutting edges. The tooth 3 is placed slightly below thehorizontal plates so that it enters more deeply into the earth and holdsthe horizontal blades down to the work. Another advantage gained byplacing the tooth y below the horizontal blades is that no sharp angleor corner is formed in which branches of trees and roots may lodge toimpair the operation of the excavator. The tooth y is especially usefulwhen working in hard or stiff soil where the lumps or clods would have atendency to lodge 1n the angle formed by the horizontal blades 8.

Mounted on the frame F in such manner that its forward end passes underthe apron 'w is the belt conveyer G mounted on rollers 13. Motion isapplied to the conveyer G from the running gear by means of the chain 15which operates to rotate one of the rollers 13. Chain 15 is connected tothe running gear through gear 17 on the axle. Gear 17 imparts motion toshaft 10 through gear 7 and the sprocket wheel driving the chain ismounted on shaft 10. The belt conveyer G is supplied with cleats 3 toassist in trans porting the material.

The frame F is arranged at a sufficient angle so that the rear end ofthe conveyer G is elevated above the transverse conveyer H and allmaterial carried by conveyer G is discharged onto conveyer H. Theconstruction of conveyer H is similar to that of corn veyer G and itoperates to transport and discharge the material over the side of themachine. Motion is imparted to conveyer H by means of chain 21 operatingon the sprocket wheels 19-20. Motion is imparted to sprocket wheel 20from the running gear through bevel gears l t-18 and the shaft 16.

The frame F carrying the conveyer H is arranged to be tilted so that thedischarge end may be raised as conditions require. The frame P is hingedto the vehicle frame at 51 and is held in the raised position by beingclamped to the slotted member 52, which is formedon a curve concentricwith the hinge 51. By placing the conveyer H at the desired angle thematerial is raised in two steps to a higher level than would be possiblewith one transverse conveyer.

In forming ditches of any substantial depth or in building levees, theamount of earth excavated renders it necessary that the material becarried a farther distance before it is discharged from the machine, orthat it be elevated to a greater height. To perform this function I usean auxiliary frame L hinged to the vehicle frame at its inner end andsupported by the wheel 33 at its outer end. The wheel 33 running overthe irregularities in the ground and on the slope of the dump maintainsthe outer end of the frame a certain distance above the ground at alltimes. Mounted on the frame L so that the outer end thereof projectsover and above the wheel 33 is the frame K on which is mounted a beltconveyer M, of substantially the same design as the other conveyers.Motion is imparted to the conveyer M from the running gear by means ofthe sprocket wheel 1 engaging the chain 15. The sprocket wheel 4 ismounted on a shaft which is connected by universal joints with the shaft23 on the side of the frame L. Grooved pulleys 27 on the shaft 23 areconnected by cross belts with the pulleys 5 mounted on the shafts of therollers 6 on which the conveyer M is carried. As a means of holding theframe L at the proper angle, a rope 29 fastened to the outer end of theframe is attached to a winding post 31 on the main frame of the vehicle.

The machine thus constructed is especially adapted to be used in cuttingditches and raising levees, being readily operated by animal power andmanaged with ease by ordinary workmen.

A tongue 47 and whiflie trees 48 attached to the front of the carriageframe furnish the means for connecting draft animals to the machine andthe carriage frame being mounted at the front on a single steering wheelenables the direction of the travel to be controlled and varied asconditions require.

I claim:

1. In an excavating machine the combination of a vehicle frame, alongitudinally arranged angularly adjustable frame thereon, excavatingmeans on the forward end of said frame, a belt conveyer on said frame, atransversely arranged angularly adjustable frame below the rear end ofthe con veyer, a belt conveyer on said transverse frame, a laterallyextending frame attached to the vehicle frame and supported at its outerend by a wheel, and a belt conveyer on said lateral frame to receive theexcavated material from the transverse conveyer, and means connected tothe running gear of the vehicle for driving said conveyers.

2. In an excavating machine, the combination of a vehicle frame, alongitudinally arranged angularly adjustable frame thereon pivoted nearits center to the vehicle frame, excavating means on the forward end ofthe longitudinal frame, means for adjusting the frame at varying angles,a belt conveyer on said frame, a transversely arranged angularlyadjustable frame arranged on the vehicle frame below the rear end of thebelt conveyer, a belt conveyer on said transverse frame, a laterallyextending frame removably attached to the vehicle frame and supported atits outer end by a wheel, the inner end of said lateral frame lyingbelow the discharge end of the transverse conveyer, a belt conveyer onthe lateral frame to receive the excavated material from the transverseconveyer and means connected to the running gear of the vehicle tooperate said conveyers.

3. An excavating implement comprising two parallel vertically arrangedshares, two horizontal shares arranged therebetween, the cutting edgesof the horizontal shares extending backwardly at an angle to thedirection of movement of the implement, an

inclined bottom between the two vertical shares lying partly over therear ends of the horizontal shares, and a central pointed tooth-lying inthe angle formed by the cutting faces of the horizontal shares and belowthe plane of the horizontal shares.

, MARTIN H. BLANCHARD. Witnesses:

E. E. OsBoRN, M. REGNER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). C.

